My body stiffens under him as I try to comprehend what he just said. Never before has Mason said any words even remotely similar to what just came out of his mouth. I'm not even one hundred percent sure if I heard him correctly.

Mason continues to kiss me like it's his first time doing it. His lips mold themselves against mine, and a shiver runs down my spine from how well they move with one another.

I feel this burning pit in my stomach whenever I see him- whenever his eyes lock with mine and he gives me that devilish smirk of his. This whole day with him has made me realize that my feelings for Mason are much deeper than I anticipated.

This situation I'm in with him is a challenge to say the least. We can't be more opposite from each other.

Whenever it comes to him I often find myself caring too much while he always cares too little.

His lips remain locked with mine as I feel his hands roam down my sides slowly, griping me harder under him. The nerves in my body ignite from his touch and an involuntary whimper escapes my lips.

The both of us manage to sneak in small breaths between each kiss, neither of us wanting to break contact for something so little as a quick breath.

Mason's confidence must be rubbing off on me, because ever since he opened his eyes to look at me, I haven't felt the tremendous amount of anxiety- only anticipation for whatever he has planned.

He pushes his hips forward and I feel his hardened length bury themselves in between my legs. His tongue slides into my mouth and he wastes no time to devour my lips with his own.

My thoughts are interrupted by the sound of the doorbell ringing throughout the house. Our lips stay intertwined while I wait for him to break the kiss, but he doesn't. He seems to be in his own little world over what he had just seen.

Even thinking about the reaction on his face when he saw me is enough to send my pulse jack hammering through my whole entire body.

His body presses deeper into my lips with each kiss, and it hits me that even though Mason doesn't show any of his emotional side, he's fluent in communicating physically.

It's strange to think that the man who was laughing while playing with my nipples in the shower is the same one on top of me, kissing me with such urgency- such passion that my stomach felt like it was going to explode.

I let out a shallow breath as his hands cup my breasts. Heat runs through my body as I take his hair in my hands, trying to pull him closer.

The doorbell rings again and I gently push his chest to part our lips. Our chests rise in sync with one another's as pants fall from our mouths. He looks down at me, his eyebrows knitted together in confusion over what I had just done.

His large broad body remains in the gap between my legs, and I admit it was a tease.

Me being under him half naked, while Mason is on top of me with not one piece of clothing- only a white towel acting as a barrier between us.

Maybe this is punishment for all of the sins I've been partaking in.

"Someone's at the door." I say as I look up at his swollen pink lips.

"Fuck them." He dismisses my words and buries his head into my neck, sucking and biting on the sensitive skin.

The stimulating feeling from his soft kisses on my neck starts to take over my body. I bite down on my lip as I squirm under him to try and get him to stop teasing me. I know that if we start whatever he has planned I won't be able to stop.

He sighs deep into my neck and lifts his body upward slightly, still leaving very little space between us. He looks at me, not finding any of my games funny while I glare up at him.

"You really don't expect me to let you walk away looking like this do you?"

I can see the emotion change in his eyes, and realize that the stone cold Mason I was trying to forget has returned.

"At least let me check and see who it is." I try to negotiate, but Mason doesn't seem the type to do things that aren't on his terms.

Although I want more than anything to let him do what he wants with me, I also enjoy the feeling of knowing that for once I'm in control.

Putting on this set teased him, and leaving without letting him fulfil all the dirty thoughts in his head would only drive him even more crazy. I liked giving him a taste of his own medicine, it's always best to leave them wanting more, right?

"No." Mason replies, his voice strict. He tightens his arms above me leaving me with no room to escape, "I'm not done with you yet."

His words almost have me throwing up a white flag and surrendering.

No, Isabelle. Stand your ground.

"But what if it's someone important?" I ask, and the hardened face of the man above me softens.

I wish I was able to read inside that mind of his. I've noticed that some of the words I say trigger him, and I'm still unsure on why. I want to be able to open up to him, and I want him to feel that way towards me also. But it's clear to me that we still aren't there yet.

The thought of doing something as simple as opening the front door scares the shit out of me.

These past few hours with Mason have been such a rollercoaster, I'm afraid that if I open up and let the rest of the world in everything will change.

I have so many fears when it comes to him- after all he isn't the easiest man to read.

His eyes search around my face for a moment before he lets out a defeated sigh.

"Fine. But if it isn't your ass is mine, even if I have to tie you to the bed myself."

I can't hide the faint smile appearing on my lips from his response. Mason saying my ass will be his sends butterflies flying all around my stomach, even if his voice was meant to sound demanding rather than sincere.

I look up at him and notice there's no change in his face- this man is dead serious.

I nod slowly, feeling my face already flushed before Mason shifts himself off of me until his back hits the mattress. I take this as my moment to get up, so I quickly do and make my way towards the window of my room that looks directly outside the front of the house.

I make a mental note to not look at Mason while I do so since I can physically feel his eyes burning into my body with every step I take. And let's not forget the huffs coming out of his mouth that he's clearly not trying to hide.

He is so dramatic.

Once I reach the window I immediately peer outside and try to find whoever has been ringing the doorbell. I don't see anyone, but one thing I do spot is a car.

One that I instantly recognize.

"It's Amy." I think out loud, while my mind swarms with reasons on why she would be here. Has something happened? Did she leave again?

"Your aunt?" Mason's voice breaks me out of my thoughts, "what's she doing here?"

I tear my eyes away from the window and look over to see him sprawled across my bed, his arms resting below his head.

It was quite a view.

His chest is still bare revealing the black tattoos along his chest, and the towel seemed to be barely hanging on his waist from the hardened bulge trying to make its way through.

I swallow at the thought of me missing out on all the sexual activities I could be doing right now. But truth be told, I wasn't really in the mood anymore.

"I uh- I'm not sure." I answer honestly and all he does is look at me and not say a word. It seems as though we both know it means no sexy time for either of us.

The doorbell rings again and I let out a sigh before I slowly start to walk over to Mason. By the time I'm standing right beside him I speak up.

"I should uh-"

"Go." He finishes for me, and I connect my eyes with his. He sits up and faces his body towards mine, giving me his full attention.

"What?" I ask for clarification. I assumed Mason would fight me on this since he's the most stubborn person I know. But I can see on his face that he isn't too bothered by my sudden departure.

"Go." He grabs me by the waist and pulls me closer to him so I'm now standing in between his legs. "When I get the chance to fuck you I don't want any distractions."

He looks into my eyes with those beautiful green orbs of his, and I smile. Mason, the guy who only a few minutes ago was talking about fucking me senseless is letting me leave without so much of a debate.

My eyes go back to his lips and he stands there watching me. I slowly bring my face closer towards his and before I get the chance to place a kiss on his lips a phone rings beside us. I sigh, my face only inches away from his and step back.

Maybe this is the world telling us to stop trying with our sexual antics.

Mason reaches his arm over to grab his phone on my nightstand, and just as he looks down to see who it is his body tenses. He places his phone down on his lap so I'm unable to see the screen. I'm not sure if he's trying to hide who just called him, I wait for him to tell me but he doesn't.

I don't even know why I need an explanation in the first place. But I can't get the idea out of my head that it was one of the many women he's slept with.

Well if my aunt didn't ruin the moment, this sure did the trick.

"Now go, before I change my mind." The tone is his voice has changed, it's gone back to being ice cold and I feel a heavy amount of disappointment over it.

The look in his eyes that he's giving me isn't the same it was moments ago, it's dark and distant. I know questioning it will only cause an argument, so I walk over to my closet and pull out a robe to cover me up.

I don't say anything as I unclip the stockings on my legs and slide them off. He doesn't even look at me as I do so, just continues to stare ahead.

As I tie the robe tighter around my waist my eyes try to search for his, but there's no point. So without saying another word, I walk out of the room and slam the door behind me.

❀

I swing open the front door and look to find exactly who I predicted. Amy stood there in her usual scrubs and tennis shoes, holding a plastic bag in hand. I smile at the sight of her, and pull her into a hug.

My head nuzzles into her shoulder and my tense muscles relax. I've missed her, throughout my time here we haven't talked on the phone much- just whenever she has the chance to.

It felt strange that we don't talk everyday like we used to. There's so much going on right now in my life that Amy knows nothing about.

Having her here almost feels like a reminder of what my old life was like only a few months ago- no drama with any boys or our mothers, just us two.

I release her from her hug and watch as she eyes me up and down.

"Did I just wake you from a nap?" My eyes widen from her words and I quickly collect myself.

Was my hair that messy? Maybe I shouldn't let Mason throw me on the bed like a ragdoll aymore.

"Uh no, I- I was just in bed." I tell the half truth before changing the subject, "what brings you here?"

"I thought I'd bring you some dinner before my shift starts," she lifts up the bag for me to see, "I brought burritos."

My smile widens and I move over so she can come inside. Now that I think about it, this is the first she's ever been inside Jessica's place, and from the look on her face I can tell she's more than impressed.

"Woah, it's no wonder you don't want to go back home." She says and my stomach turns from her comment.

I look away from her and hope that that isn't the reason why she came here. I do miss being home, but I can't act like I plan on returning anytime soon. Being here in this house has distracted me from everything going on with my family, all this time I've been here I've been feeling as though I'm finally able to breathe.

Every single day in my house was a constant reminder of the fact that my mother left. Every time I'd walk past her room, or look at the family pictures on the wall I'd feel as though it was shattering yet another piece of me.

And as of right now, I don't have any more pieces to give.

Amy looks at me with regret in her eyes over her comment, and I clear my throat to break the silence.

"Why don't we sit outside and eat?" I ask. I know at one point or another the topic of my mother will come up and I don't want to risk Mason hearing any of it.

She nods her head and follows me outside. By the time we take our seats at the table outside my stomach starts rumbling.

For the first couple minutes we exchanged small talk while we ate. When she asked for an update on my life I found it hard to give her an honest answer without mentioning Mason. I know she won't care that he's staying in the house with Jessica and I, but instead of filling her in and telling her some little white lies on the subject, I would rather refrain from telling her altogether.

I can feel the giant elephant in the room getting bigger with each moment that passes. I'm sure she wants answers on how I still feel about it all, so I assume this is a better time than any to talk about it.

"So," I begin, "how is she?" Amy swallows the food in her mouth and looks at me like I have just grown two heads.

I sit back in my chair while I wait for her to answer.

"She's uh... she's quiet."

"Quiet?" I question.

"Yes, this whole thing has been very hard on her-" I can't stop the scoff that comes out of my mouth from her words.

I know it was my idea to bring it up, but I have to keep reminding myself to stay calm.

"I'm sure it has been." I mutter under my breath.

"Elle," Amy says and I tighten my grip on the armrests of the chair and bring my attention back towards her.

"When are you coming home?" She asks me, her voice is filled with concern and I'm left wondering why.

After all the years imagining how my mother would return I'd never thought this was the outcome. Me leaving and everyone treating me like I'm the bad guy.

"I don't know." I answer honestly, I know she expects me to say more but I don't know what else I'd say.

"Elle, you can't hide here forever-"

"I'm not hiding." I interrupt.

Amy blows out a long breath while her eyes scan my face. I chew on my lip and look on the ground anxiously, findling with my fingers.

Moments ago I felt like I was on the top of the world being with Mason, and now my body feels as if it's shrunken in the chair and I'm unable to move.

As we sit in silence the air around me seems as though it's thinning by the second, so I reluctantly decided to speak up.

"You know all those years without her was difficult for me to process. The first couple of months I had no idea where she was, so you know how I got through it?" I took a deep breath and blinked away the tears that tried to surface.

"I pretended she was dead. It was easier for me to imagine that than to constantly feel abandoned."

"Trust me, Elle, I understand-"

"No, no you don't." Amy clamps her mouth shut as she takes in my words.

The last thing I want is to argue with her about this, but I hate it when people say that to me. Nobody understands what I went through, in a matter of months I had to experience Mason disappearing, my father dying and my own mother leaving me to fend for myself through it all.

I admit, feeling a sense of abandonment was something that I'm familiar with, but having them come back is an entirely new feeling to me.

"I'm trying." I say to her, "I know it doesn't seem like it but I am. I just can't give you a set date on when everything will be normal again. You have to give me time to adjust."

I try to word everything as carefully as I can, I know this topic is a sensitive one for both of us.

I reconnect my eyes with hers, and am pleased to see her smile at me- although it's a tired looking one, it's still there for me to see. She reaches her hand over to the center of the table, and I place my hand on top of hers.

"I just miss you." She says to me, and I let all the anger inside of me melt away. I give her hand a squeeze and smile back at her.

I miss her too, but more than anything, I miss the way things used to be.

❀

Amy continues to stay for about another hour or so. The rest of the time we eat is filled with so much laughter my stomach starts to cramp up. I did feel bad leaving her alone with my mother and Sylvia but it seems like she's capable of handling it herself.

As I walk up the stairs towards my room I hear nothing but absolute silence. I slowly make my way towards Mason's room and before I open it I contemplate if this is the right choice.

I can't get the image of him shutting down in front of me out of my head. Every time I think a piece of the wall he has built up around him is finally being taken off, it seems as though two more get replaced.

I realize my hand has a mind of its own when it opens up his bedroom door. I peak in and find it completely empty.

I find it hard to believe that he didn't wait for me, especially since I'm still wearing the set underneath my robe. Jealousy fills my body once I think that maybe it has to do with the call he received.

I sigh and slowly walk back over to my room, today has felt long and I am exhausted.

The moment I walk into my room I notice something on the top of my bed. I look around and wonder if maybe Mason left some hidden cameras along with it.

I feel this burning pit in my stomach as I make my way over to it. I hope this isn't a part of one of his games, because I've had enough for today.

Right when I get close enough, realization hits me.

I look down at Mason's shirt I threw in the trash earlier today folded neatly on the top of my bed and I smile.

That sneaky bastard.